As I reflect on Father’s Day and what it’s like to be a dad I can’t help but think of my dad. My dad has influenced me more than anyone else, yet I don’t tell him “thank you” enough. As a small business owner, my dad has been in business for himself for 30 years as an orthodontist in Tallahassee and is still going strong today.

Back in 1984 my dad left the dentist he was working for and started his own practice across the street, only the new practice was exclusive to orthodontics. One of his first initiatives was building a new office building with a large waiting room and open treatment area. Inside, the main motif is fish with several fish tanks and large aquatic murals. In terms of design, the space was very forward thinking with open areas, tall ceilings, and great natural light.

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The very awakening of the kundalini in the muladhara is accompanied by blissful sensations in that centre. As it rises and moves through each chakra, described aptly as lotuses with petals drooping down, they straighten up and bloom at its magic touch. Not only does the bliss experienced by the yogi reach unimaginable heights, but also his eyes are opened to greater vistas, wonderful realms, which he never before could have imagined existed. His physical body as well as his subtle body, mind, and intellect become refined and yogic powers like clairvoyance, etc., begin to appear spontaneously.

When the kundalini reaches the sahasrara, it being the Shakti, unites with Shiva, the passive principle, and they become undifferentiated in one vast ocean of peace and omnipresent being. The yogi, lost in that state, is said to be in Samadhi. When the kundalini descends again to the lower centres, the yogi is conscious of the world but he is now a new person. The alchemist’s stone has touched him and he has been transmuted into gold. He may put on an armour of base metals to join the battle of life, but inside, is pure gold. Ofcourse, he can lead the kundalini again to meet the Lord at will. Such a yogi is verily a manifestation of Shiva, Shivam, auspiciousness and Shivoham; Shivoham is his mantrasiddhi.

CHAPTER 8

Bringing Out the Best Within You

We are what we think we are. The habitual inclination of our thoughts determines our talents and abilities, and our personality. Thus some think they are writers or artists, industrious or lazy, and so on. What if you want to be other than what you presently think you are? You may argue that others have been born with the special talent you lack but desire to have. This is true. But they had to cultivate the habit of that ability some time—if not in this life, then in a previous one. So whatever you want to be, start to develop that pattern now. You can instill any trend in your consciousness right now, provided you inject a strong thought in your mind, then your actions and whole being will obey that thought.

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One must never give up hope of becoming better. A person is old only when he refuses to make the effort to change. That stagnant state is the only “old age” I recognize. When a person says again and again, “I can’t change; this is the way I am,” then I have to say, “All right, stay that way, since you have made up your mind to be like that.”

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No matter what his present state, man can change for the better through self-control, discipline, and following proper diet and health laws. Why do you think you cannot change? Mental laziness is the secret cause of all weakness.

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Now to the bare essentials of kundalini yoga. The kundalini is a spiritual force or energy, symbolized by a serpent, which remains sleeping or inactive in a potential stage like a coiled spring in all human beings, male or female, at the extreme lower end of the spine in a centre called muladhara chakra. A yogi is different from the ordinary human being in that he, by controlling the sexual impulse intimately linked with the kundalini, and by practice of spiritual exercises taught by his guru, manages to arouse the kundalini serpent from its sleep and guides it upwards step by step along the central sushumna channel in the spine until it reaches the sahasrara chakra or the sahasrara padma, the thousand-petalled lotus situated in the head.

In all human beings, the prana, or the lifeforce, moves and performs its functions through two nadis or paths, called the pingala on the right side of the spine and the ida on the left. The pingala, also called ‘ha’ in Hatayoga, is the positive channel and the ida, also called ‘tha’ is the negative. The central nadi, on both sides of which are the ida and the pingala, is called the sushumna and lies in the core of the spinal cord.

The sushumna channel is closed normally, and the yogi opens it up by his practice, brings the negative and positive pranas together at the base of the spine through pranayama and, striking the kundalini, wakes her up and takes her up along the cleared central sushumna. As the kundalini moves upwards from the muladhara, it passes through five other centres, situated one above the other, called swadhistana, a little above the reproductive organs, manipura in the navel, anahata in the middle of the chest, vishuddha in the throat and aajnya in the space between the eyebrows before it reaches the seventh centre in the brain.

CHAPTER 7

Inner Peace: Antidote for Stress, Worry, and Fear

“The state of complete tranquility of the feeling (chitta), attained by yoga meditation, in which the self (ego) perceives itself as the Self (soul) and is content (fixed) in the Self;

“The state in which the sense-transcendent immeasurable bliss becomes known to the awakened intuitive intelligence, and in which the yogi remains enthroned never again to be removed;

“The state that, once found, the yogi considers as the treasure beyond all other treasures–anchored therein, he is immune to even the mightiest grief;

“That state is known as yoga–the pain-free state. The practice of yoga is therefore to be observed resolutely and with a stout heart.”

[Bhagavad Gita VI:20-23]

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Realization that all power to think, speak, feel, and act comes from God, and that He is ever with us, inspiring and guiding us, brings an instant freedom from nervousness. Flashes of divine joy will come with this realization; sometimes a deep illumination will pervade one’s being, banishing the very concept of fear. Like an ocean, the power of God sweeps in, surging through the heart in a cleansing flood, removing all obstructions of delusive doubt, nervousness, and fear. The delusions of matter, the consciousness of being only a mortal body, is over come by contracting the sweet serenity of Spirit, attainable by daily meditation Then you know that the body is a little bubble of energy in His cosmic sea.

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It is true that Masters of high spiritual stature can awaken the kundalini or spiritual consciousness in an individual by their mere wish. But then, they do so only for the disciple with the right qualifications, intense longing for the Truth, and only for one who does intense sadhana. When the disciple is ripe, the guru seeks him out to bestow his grace. S, be cautious when someone offers spiritual enlightenment wholesale.

We shall not go into the many details regarding the number of petals of the given chakra, the colour, etc. Such details are not important. And those who are interested can find them in the Sanskrit originals or in the excellent translations available, like Sir John Woodroff’s Serpent Power. But regarding the Hatayogic and other practices found in books, one should not resort to practicing them without the guidance of an experienced teacher. Not only are they useless without such guidance but are downright dangerous.

There are instances of unfortunate enthusiasts who have gone mad practicing what they thought to be spiritual exercises. This is apart from the physical ailments that can be caused by the improper practice of Hatayogic postures and breathing exercises called pranayama.